Shamrock Marathon 2014 Race Report

I always enjoy reading race recaps from other runners (especially when I'm killing time in the taper!) so I thought I'd post mine here. Shamrock Marathon 2014 - 3:09:52

Race Week: I ran the Shamrock Marathon on March 16th of this year.  Four days before the race I caught my daughters' stomach virus and it threw me (and my race preparation!) for a loop.  I was so sick with the girls’ stomach bug on Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday I was feeling better, but couldn’t really eat any solid foods until Thursday. Tried my best to force down the carbs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and just prayed that my stomach would hold it together on race day.  It definitely was an anxiety-filled week as I wasn't sure if I'd be able to race at all - much less to race for the time goal (sub 3:10) I wanted.  I knew that was a pretty ambitious goal going into this race (almost 9 minutes off my current PR from the fall) and that in order to have a good shot at it, the day had to go pretty well.  A stomach virus that prevented me from eating as much as I normally do before a race was not part of the plan!

Day Before the Race: My parents and uncle were running the Shamrock Half marathon, so I kissed the girls & my husband goodbye and drove down from Richmond to Virginia Beach with my parents on Saturday around noon. I’d done a shakeout run that morning with a brief interval (3 minutes HARD effort) to prime my body to store some glycogen. After a quick lunch at Panera, we headed down to VA Beach to stay at my uncle’s house. He’d picked up our packets so we got to avoid the expo. We had spaghetti for dinner, and I had a piece of birthday cake (it was my birthday on Saturday) to round out the meal. Went to bed around 9:30pm after listening to my visualization program (mental prep). Woke up in the middle of the night (2am) because I rolled over on the “inflate” button for the air mattress and it started inflating more!!! It scared the life out of me (and out of my parents who were sleeping on an air mattress in the same room!)! By the time I figured out to unplug it, I was wide awake and worried I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Thankfully, I managed it.

Race Day: I woke up at 5am when my parents’ alarm went off. The half marathon started 1.5 hrs earlier than the full marathon (7am vs. 8:30am) so they had to get there before me.I got up and had 1 serving (2 scoops) of Hammer Perpetum (UGH – so yucky, but effective – just had to get it down) and then just chilled out for an hour or so on the sofa. At 6:45 I tried to get down my bagel and banana. I had a hard time (stomach did not want to eat), but I managed all of the bagel and probably 3/4ths of the banana. Some Gatorade and water as well. My aunt drove me to the start (one of the HUGE perks about running a race near family) with about 40 minutes to go. It was 40 degrees with 15-20mph wind from the NNE, so it felt a bit colder. Even still, I wore shorts, a singlet, gloves and long socks that I cut off to use as arm warmers. (because I didn’t want to throw away my actual arm warmers - ha!) I used the restroom, warmed up for 5 minutes or so, ate 1 gel (Honey Stinger) and then got in my corral. They had a 3:05 pace group (too fast) and a 3:15 pace group (too slow), so I kind of stood in the middle and nervously asked people around me if anyone was shooting for a 3:10 or so. No takers. The gun went off, and I did my best to keep it reasonable.

Miles 1-5: 7:21, 7:11, 7:14, 7:08, 7:14

Ran a 7:21 for the first mile and had a few talkative guys around. Tried to see what they were running but they were targeting a 3:05 or so, so I knew I needed to let them go. Miles 2-5 passed pretty uneventfully. The wind was blowing pretty good but it was mostly to the side or at our backs during this part so I tried to relax and conserve energy. Somewhere in this stretch I found a group of 2 guys and a girl that were looking for around a 3:10. One of the guys (Adam) was a coach of some athletes and was doing a great job holding the pace pretty steady, so I kind of locked on to him and his friends (Aaron & Liz). Another girl (Gina) joined us and she and I talked for a bit. She was also shooting for a 3:10 and (like me) she had been worried that she wouldn’t have anyone to run with. We all joked a bit that we were now the “unofficial 3:10 pace group”. I decided to hang with them as long as I could.

Miles 6-10: 7:10, 7:08, 7:06, 7:10, 7:11

Miles 5-10 were tougher – we hit the turnaround and then started running back up north – so were running right into the wind. I took my first gel at mile 5. Our little group did a good job of blocking some of the wind, but it was coming from the side as well and we were getting a bit pummeled. The two guys “leading” the group at the time picked it up a bit and Gina (the talkative one) started to freak out a bit about the slightly faster pace. She wanted me to drop back with her to the planned 7:15 pace, but I sadly told her that I really didn’t want to lose the pack. I knew we had the boardwalk coming up where we’d get HAMMERED by the wind and I wanted to be with as big of a pack as I could at that point. So I told her I was going to stay with the pack. She ended up sticking it out too. Took my second gel at mile 10.

Miles 11-15: 7:08, 7:06, 7:06, 7:06, 7:09

We eventually wound our way back to the boardwalk and then the fun REALLY started. The wind was miserable – gusting so hard that it literally was blowing us from side to side. I was so, SO grateful for our pack at this point. The main “coach” guy (Adam) and the rest of the group had already talked about how we’d all need to take turns leading so that we each shared the wind-blocking duties. I decided to take the first shift and Gina came up with me. It was actually a bit of a mental boost for me to be “leading” – all of the sudden I got to focus on helping the group vs. worrying about how I was feeling my legs slowly growing more tired. I felt pretty decent during this section and kept reminding myself how much better I felt this year vs. during this same stretch last year in this marathon. The group was pretty good about taking turns. Everyone had a go at “leading” and then we kept rotating. I ended up taking 3 turns blocking the wind and felt the best during those times since my focus was on the group (vs. myself). Though it was really nice to be able to relinquish the lead and tuck in to get a respite from the wind. I pretended I was on a normal Saturday long run and my usual training partners were the ones leading the pack! Took my third gel at mile 15. One random observation – though I was in a pack for most of the race, no one was really talking much. I have found that as my times have improved, people around me in races are less and less talkative. I guess because they are all having to focus and work harder and are less inclined to have conversation – but I miss that! It makes the time go by so fast!

Miles 16-22: 7:12, 7:06, 7:05, 7:00, 7:19, 7:33 (WIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!),7:23

The first part of this wasn’t too bad – we were still running into the wind, but we had our little pack and took turns. And at around mile 17, we finally got to the wooded section where we were sheltered from the wind. At this point, our pack disbanded a bit. Two of the guys went on ahead (Adam and Aaron) and I lost the other two girls (Liz and Gina). So I was kind of left on my own. But without the wind, I was feeling much better. The legs were tired and the quads were talking to me, but I was surprised to look down and see a 7:00 split - my fastest ever in a marathon! Yes! Unfortunately, we headed out to the woods to the peninsula and woooooooo boy. Things got ugly. This was the toughest stretch by far. You could see the ocean and the wind was RIPPING off that sucker and just howling. It was so strong that at the water stop it blew the Gatorade out of my cup – I ended up only getting half of it! Took my last gel at mile 20 and barely had the strength to open it and get it down. I had to pull out all of my mental tricks during these miles – I could hear Dr. Asp's (sports psychologist who made my visualization CD) voice in my head telling me to use my reserves and to NOT be complacent – to keep pushing. It was rough seeing my time creep up - I was frantically trying to figure out if I could still make my goal. I passed 3 girls in this stretch, which was good. But man, I missed my pack. Facing that wind all on my own was so rough. I wanted to stop. I wanted to quit. I thought about my friend Meg Menzies and how she was up in heaven cheering me on and I kept going. I could not WAIT to be out of this section and headed back to what I hoped would be a tailwind to finish it up.

Miles 23-26.2: 7:15, 7:16, 7:17, 7:10, 6:44 (last .38)

FINALLY back to the main road with significantly less wind. But unfortunately by this point my legs were so toast and I was just trying desperately to hang on. I was passing guys (no other girls in sight), which was encouraging, but I knew I had a long way to go. At this point I started playing mind games. I told myself that this was a tempo run, that I just had to suck it up and know it would hurt but it would be over soon. For some reason I kept telling myself I had only two miles to go – I told myself that at mile 23 (even though it wasn’t true) and again at mile 24 (when it actually was true). For some reason, two miles seemed “reasonable” – something I could handle, that my brain would accept. I got to mile 25 and just kept pushing. My legs were starting to cramp and I was just praying they would hold on. I tried to pick it up but I was so, so tired. I knew it was going to be close and started to panic a bit. I hit a huge headwind coming on the boardwalk for the final stretch and it literally blew me sideways. Made the turn onto the boardwalk the finish just seemed SO FAR away. I kept looking at my watch and realized it was going to be REALLY close.

Pushed and pushed and made it down the final stretch – heard my dad and mom and uncle yelling for me and saw the clock – already 3:09 and change!! I gave it every single thing I had and almost fell across the line. 3:09:52 – I barely made it, but I did! I was so incredibly happy and thankful!!!  I had three people rush up to me to try and steady me, but I was fine - just exhausted.  I think they were relieved that I wasn’t going to faint or throw up! Ha! Saw my mom and dad who had made their way over and got a bit emotional. I’d been working for this for months and I was just so happy I was healthy enough to do it and had had a good day. Ended up as 10th female overall and 2nd in my age group – new PR by about 9 minutes! What a wonderful day!

Post-race it was time for hot coffee, a shower and clean clothes!  Then a nice lunch at my aunt & uncle's house before heading back to Richmond.

Final Thoughts:

I was very pleased at how this went.  Training had been pretty solid, but with the wind that is usually present at Shamrock and the complications with the stomach bug, I wasn't really sure quite what to expect.  The course itself is pancake flat.  There's one tiny overpass that you go over twice and that's the only "hill" in the entire thing.  Crowd support is patchy (especially since the course takes you onto two military bases where spectators aren't allowed), but the race itself is well organized and well run.  I enjoy the smaller marathons and this one has an additional advantage to me of being relatively close to home, and near family.   This is the second time I've run this marathon and while I think it is a good race, I don't think I'll be coming back for a while.  Mainly due to the WIND and the slightly boring course, but mostly due to the fact that there are so many other marathons I'd like to experience.  But if you are looking for a flat marathon and don't mind some wind, you may want to check it out!   http://www.shamrockmarathon.com/

Anyone out there run Shamrock in the past?  What did you think of the course?

Thanks for reading!

Mile 1

I didn't get into running until well after college.  And when I started I never expected to still be enamored with the sport almost 9 years later.   From a 2:09 half marathon (9:54 pace), I’ve worked my way down to a 3:09 marathon (7:15 pace) – taking breaks to have my two daughters along the way.   I don’t consider myself a natural athlete. I never expected to love running so much – and yet, I do. I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a few years now, but have hesitated. The pressure to add new content, the work to maintain it, and the inevitable negative comments had made me shy away from it in the past. (That, and the slight worry that the minute I hit "publish" I'd be just tempting the universe to throw an injury my way!) But a tiny voice in my head has been quietly urging me to start – to write and try my best to help other runners who may be on their own journey to become the best runner they can be.

I truly believe that we have vast amounts of untapped potential as runners – and that if we can just get our mind out of the way, our bodies are capable of so much more than we give them credit for.   It’s never been an easy thing for me, this marathon running, but it’s always felt like a worthwhile pursuit. No matter where you are starting from, whether you’ve never run a marathon or you do a marathon each month, with hard work and consistency, I have no doubt that you can improve.

That’s what I want this space to be about: Recording my own journey in the hopes that it might help others along the way to do the hard, rewarding work of reaching their running potential. I don’t claim to have everything figured out - I’m still on the journey. But I’m hoping you will join me.

Erie (Presque Isle) Marathon Race Report 2013

Erie Marathon Race Report 2013 - 3:18:51

I had decided to race the Erie Marathon in Pennsylvania after hearing great things from some running friends. It’s a flat, fast course, and the biggest selling point for me was the relatively small field and low-key race logistics.

Race Weekend:

I drove up to Erie on my own on Friday (almost 9 hours in the car) and finally arrived at the Glass House Inn around 6pm. It was a nice place to stay and best of all it was only 5 miles or so from the start of the race!   I went for a quick shake-out run of 3 miles and was LOVING the chilly weather. My 8:12 pace felt easy and I was excited.   Grabbed spaghetti takeout (eh – not great) for dinner and then went to bed around 10pm (had some trouble getting to sleep) and woke up at 7:30 the next morning. I went for a quick 20-minute shakeout (again, the cooler weather and no humidity was AWESOME) and then had a bagel and cereal for breakfast at the hotel. I took a quick trip to the expo with two awesome Richmond runners who had come up and we drove the course as well. Seeing the awesome views of the water and the pancake-flat course got me excited about getting to race the next day.

The expo/packet pickup was small – basically a few tents set up outside of the pavilion – but boasted some awesome cheap gear (technical shirts for $5!!). The shirt that they gave us in our packet was great as well – long sleeved and comfortable, with a beautiful graphic on the front. My favorite part of the shirt was the logos on the sleeve rather than the back.

Besides that quick trip to the expo/packet pickup, I spent the majority of Saturday with my feet up in my motel room, watching episodes of The Office on my laptop.

I was already getting sick of carbs but worked really hard on Saturday to carb up with lunch at Panera plus some bagels & pretzels for snacks. In addition to lots of water I had two bottles of Gatorade throughout the day. That night I went to the pasta dinner put on by the race directors –it was delicious!! They had tons of pasta, several varieties of homemade sauce, salad, bread, and two kinds of yummy cake. I was so impressed with the food and it was fun to sit and chat with other runners. I definitely ate well and went back for a second plate of pasta since the first one was so good!

Race Day:

I woke up at 4am to a fantastic 55 degree morning. I had my bagel & a half plus some Gatorade, got dressed (shorts, sports bra, sock arm warmers and throw-away shirt) and headed out to the Presque Isle state park. It was very close the motel but I wanted to make sure I got into the park and parked in the lot before it got too crazy. I made it there around 5:10am and then just sat in the car and read my Kindle app on my phone until around 6am. Then I headed to the restroom and then sat around for a bit and chatted with others. Most everyone there was there to try and qualify for Boston and I had been talking with quite a few folks the night before at the pasta dinner hoping to find someone my pace to run with. Unfortunately, no dice. But I met some very nice people (lots of them were Canadian - over half the field was!). I hit the restroom one more time checked my bag around 6:30 then did about 5 minutes of light jogging. I stretched a bit and lined up in my corral. Before I knew it, they played the national anthems (both US and Canada!) and we were off!

The Race:

My biggest fear going into this was that I’d have no one to run with. But I actually ran with several folks on and off through the whole thing! During the second mile or so I found myself with two other guys running about my pace – I asked them about their goals and found they were also shooting for under 3:20. Great! We chatted for a bit but by mile 4 I started to pull ahead. Another guy caught up to me and said he’d picked me out because I was running a steady pace and seemed in control (ha!). He was super nice and I was sad when he decided to let me go on ahead around mile 6 (he was shooting for 3:25).   After that it was pretty uneventful until around mile 8-9 or so when I linked in with another girl and a guy and we formed a little pack that knocked out steady miles until around mile 16. Around mile 9 my Garmin had trouble finding the satellites and it gave me one mile at 7:50 (even though I swear I didn’t run that pace and the girl and the guy in my “pack” confirmed we were running faster).   We all ran together until around mile 16 when the guy and I went on ahead of the girl. We’d kind of leap-frog a bit but we were always right around each other and helped encourage each other up until mile 23 or so when he finally went on ahead (he finished 45 seconds in front of me). That was so super helpful to have another person around for that long and made the two-loop course much better. I didn’t mind the two loops though I must admit it was pretty awful to see the mile markers for miles 24 & 25 (at miles 11 & 12) on the first go around and know that I had to do this ALL OVER AGAIN. The crowd support was pretty minimal, but having water stops every mile helped to break it up a bit. I got into the habit at every time we passed a group of spectators I would throw my hands up and encourage them to cheer for us – the folks around me actually got a big kick out of that and it definitely helped boost my spirits as well. I felt strong and in control for most of this race with was SO MUCH BETTER than the last one where I was working at mile 15. I guess stuffing my face with carbs over the last two days helped because I didn’t start to feel the fatigue really set in until mile 22 or so. It’s always my quads that go first and this time was no exception. The course is pancake-flat (and BEAUTIFUL – right along the water the whole time!) and that always beats my quads up. I told myself that the pace had to feel comfortable through the half and then I could pick it up. I felt great up until the last few miles when it started to get really hard and I started to get very tired. I’d tried something new with gels this time around and took 6 (!!!!) over the course of the race, plus one before the start. (Miles 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24)  I’m glad I got the extra carbs because the “GU Brew” (Gatorade-type drink) they’d mixed was so watery.  I took the GU Brew around every 2 miles or so, then took water with my gels.   I also swallowed some electrolyte tabs around mile 6 I think? At mile 22 my Garmin also conked out – since we were in a state park with lots of trees I hadn’t had great reception, but at mile 22 I got the “lost satelites” message and from that point on I had no clue what pace I was running or what mile I was at – only the total time. I was frantically trying to do math in my head (I’d accidentally dropped my pace chart a while back) and math at mile 22 just isn’t pretty. J I just told myself to keep pushing as much as my quads would let me. The last few miles were HARD but I felt happy because I was pretty sure that unless disaster struck, I was going to get my goal! Mile 25 was the longest mile ever and I kept wishing for the finish line – when it finally came into view and I saw the clock I gave it everything I had to keep it under 3:19. Success!! 3:18:51 was the official time. I was 4^th in my age group (by 11 lousy seconds!! The girl who took 3^rd came flying by me around mile 21, but I could see her up until the end – drat!!) and 13^th female overall.   It was a long drive home right after a quick shower, but the drive was much sweeter with a PR under my belt!

Splits: 7:42, 7:31, 7:29, 7:32, 7:23, 7:25, 7:33, 7:34, 7:28, 7:31, 7:35, 7:32, 7:28, 7:36, 7:50 (watch kept going in and out here - not sure if this is accurate?), 7:31, 7:25, 7:26, 7:24, 7:25, 7:25, 7:31, ??, ??, ??, ??, ?? (no idea on the last few!)